A Pony's Quest
by Whimscal Emmycorn
Summary: A pony of royalty has sent out a bellow of help to save her Daughter from the evil Changling, Darren. As allies join forces and overcome their pasts and differences, they gallop alongside the royal Lady Ashen to save her lost daughter Cassidy.
1. Chapter 1

A Pony's Quest

 _Far from the borders of Equestria, in a castle that was_ stained with blood, a great unicorn stared out into the distance. The castle had once been made of beautiful stone but the wars of a past time had ruined the Night Castle. A giant window pane of Princess Luna took up a far wall. Although Equestria was days away, the Night family knew who deserved their devoution. The wall next to the stained window had a banner of Princess Celestria adjacent to Princess Luna, but the princess of the moon came first. Lady Ashen hoped the clear moonlight was Luna's blessing on her quest. She closed her eyes, remembering why she had to leave her glorious home. Darren, a villain worthy of Discord's respect, had kidnapped her daughter, Cassidy. Darren had been raging chaos on Ashen's life since she was a filly.

"Do you always bathe in Luna's moon?"

Ashen spun around and saw an earth pony in her midst. She had put out banners asking for warriors. She saw an earth pony that had a brown mane with silver steaks within the mane. His cutiemark appeared to be a enlarged heart with a shield in front of it, a sword hung on his flank. He stared at her with kindness in his eyes.

"Who are you, kind sir?" She returned his kind look.

He bowed and replied, "My name is Fravir, my lady."

"Do you know of me or my family?"

"The great Night family, who have been fighting the Changlings in this land for what seems forever."

"Yes, mostly the changling named Darren. At one point of time, I cared for him. He grew cold, however, now we fight with no end. This time, he has taken my child, Cassidy hostage." She stomped at the floor. "I will save her!"

"Of course you will, my lady." A new voice echoed through her great hall. Ashen glanced up to see a Pegasus in her company.

She noticed the light blue coat glimmer among her ceiling. As she studied him closer, embers of an old flame stirred in her heart. Who was this new warrior? His cutiemark was a sword on fire and his mane an almost blackish brown. The eyes were what gripped her soul the most. At the first glance, his eyes were a normal brown, but Ashen saw golden glecks in that chocolate sea.

"Who are you, new warrior?" She trembled, not recognizing her own voice.

"I am Sir Alferion Deotrano. Apparently, your requests for warriors has traveled far. I am not from these valleys or mountains. I thought I could spare time for you, my lady." Then he smirked at her with a wink. This action caused Ashen's heart to flutter. Could love pas through her life a second time? Wait, love? Shaking her head, she put that stupid though on the back burner.

"You would not dare go on a quest without me, would you old friend?"

Ashen turned her vision to a unicorn who she knew well. A smile graced her face as she replied, "Of course not, Stephen."

Stephen, a male black unicorn with a silver mane, smiled back at her. On his flank, there was a swirl with a sparkle at the top, which she knew represented his talent in magic. "Good, because you know I will help, especially when it comes to Darren."

Ashen looked at the tree warriors. This wasn't a bad group, was it? Could she wait for more knights? No. Darren could be snacking on Cassidy right now.

"I can't wait to leave or other members for our group. Cassidy could be in a pod right now!" Ashen walked to the knights in her path.

"I understand your haste, Lady Ashen, but please let me swear my fealty to you." Fravir knelt at her feet.

"Your fealty sould belong to Celestia and Luna above me, though good sir."

He looked up into her eyes. "I know, but we do not live in their lands. Nor do they rule this kingdom or land."

She began to interject when he raised his hoof.

"I know you do not rule this land, either. But, your family has sacrified much to protect us from the changlings. To pay this debt, I offer my services to you, my lady."

Alferion knelt next to Fravir. "As do I, my lady."

Ashen glanced at Stephen, who also knelt at her feet, then she heard him say, "I should have sworn my loyalty to you a long time ago. You have been my friend for so long and we fought so many battles together. Let us do this, Ashen."

She closed her eyes and opened them again. "Very well. Do you, Fravir, swear your loyalty, your sword and everything in you to protect me? To make sure this quest is successful?"

"I do."

"Alferion and Stephen, do you sear the same?"

In unison, they spoke, "We do."

All of her knights rose to their knees, staring at her. She stared back and in a regal voice announced, "We leave at dawn. Use the night to prepare yourself. We rise at the first light of Celestia's sun."


	2. Chapter 2

When the sun graced their land with light, Ashen's troupe started their great journey. Ashen gave her home one last glance before they left. Leaving her home was never easy, but she had roamed the earth many times. She knew the world could be treachous place. Yet, at the same time, the road held many welcome memories she kept in her heart. Except for Stephen, she did not know that much about her companions. She swung her head up to see the Pegasus flying along her side. The group was heading for the Forest of Condemnation-Darren's known nest. Still walking at a good pace, she studied the Pegasus again. For some reason, he captured all her fascination.

Shoving her fears aside she asked, "Sir Alferion, where do you come from? That is, do you mind telling me?"

He smiled down at her. "I do not, my sweet lady of Night. However, the story of my village is not full of rainbows. There is a reason my cutiemark has fire on it. For you see, I have many reasons for coming with you on this quest."

"I can understand that."

"Good, I did not wanting you thinking I had ill intentions. I hail from a small village up in the Spirit Hills called Hoofbeat Creek, a very small village. I was with my family at the time and my mother was outside. All of sudden all I could hear was her screaming. I barely heard the garbled words, "Fire" and "Changlings". I went into the front field to see my parents struggling to put out the flames. They insisted that I find shelter, for I was just a colt. My mother only cared about my survival, she did not care about her life. I ran out of the village as far as I could. I ended up taking cover in a cave some distance away. Later that night, I checked the village only to see ashes…ashes and smoke."

Fravir glanced up to Alf, who had been listening to his tale, "I'm so sorry to hear that, my friend. Did your parents survive?"

Alf sdon'ttared down at his friend, one tear staining his cheek. "I'm not sure. Like I said, all I saw was smoke and ashes. There were bodies, not to what I could see." He looked into Ashen's eyes. "So you see my lady, my story is marked with fire. I hope on this quest I can discover how harmed my home."

"I know of the town that you speak of, Alf. Hoofbeat Creak was far off the beaten path. How would only one know about that small place?" Stephen asked up to the sky, in Alf's direction.

"This sounds like our favorite changling's work." Ashen spat.

Alf's eyes went wide. "Do you think, Ashen?"

Ashen snorted, "I would not put it pass him. We all know how Darren takes pleasure in the pain of others."

Alf stares deep into Ashen's eyes and Ashen stares back. She feels that connection once again, a hum deep within her being, but again she shakes it off. No one speaks as they reach the entrance of the forest. Some in their land said that this forest is close to the Everfree in Equestria. She thought about her similar story, but instead of losing her family, Ashen had lost her one true love, Ryler. Perhaps, Aferion was Ryler once again in her life? Why was she even thinking about him like that? No one could take Ryler's place in her heart. Stirring out of her thoughts, she saw her warriors surrounding a tree.

"What's wrong?"

Stephen points to the tree in front of them. "It feels as if there was once a powerful magic inside this tree. Someone must have drained the magic, because now all I feel now is magical remains."

Ashen placed her right front hoof on the tree's trunk. Stephen was right, strong magic has once lived in this tree. Could this be more work of the changlings? But what would they want with magic? All they needed to live was love. In her deep pondering, Fravir turned around and yelled, "Who goes there?"

A few feet away, a stranger came out of the shadows. He looked like a hermit, long stringy gray beard with a long gray and white mane. He appeared to be a unicorn, with a cutiemark of a spark coming out of a tree. Did this tree belong to him?

"I'm sorry to startle you." He squinted at the four of them. "What are you doing with my tree?"

Ashen spoke up, "Did magic use to reside in this tree?"

"Use to? There should be some strands of magic within the branche

s." He placd his right front hoof on the tree as well. Unlike Ashen, he focused completely on the tree. "Well…you're right young lady. There is no magic here." He hung his head.

Fravir piped up, "What's wrong, sir?"

"Well for starters, you called me sir. My name is Jekuthial and this tree was basically my life's work. Along with many other trees in this forest. Although it is called the Forest of Condemnation, I always believed it to be beautiful. The foret should not be blamed that the changlings try to paint it as ugly and cruel. I will not let the forest fall into their hands. They steal the magic from the trees to power their nest."

"Darren's nest?" Ashen's eyes grew wide.

Jekuthial nodded. "How did you know that?"

"That is why we ventured into the forest. To find Darren and defeat him!"

The old man stroked his beard. "That is a great feat. Who are you, beautiful one? I recognize your cutiemark."

Ashen glimpsed at her cutiemark. Hers was a sword through a heart, but was unique was the star on the hilt. The same sword hung on her back. "You notice the sword of the Night family."

Jekuthial's eyes grew big. "You are Lady Ashen Night." He raises his hoof to her. "I owe you my loyalty to ou, my lady. Your family has helped protect this land. They only did that task with their blood and many lifes. So for that, I owe you my loyalty. Same with anyoneelse in this great land of ours."

She shook his hand. "What can you do for us, Jekuthial?"

He nodded to Ashen's knights. "I can show those men how to fight changlings. I can show you what might defeat Darren and his army."

A bright smile grew on Ashen's face. "That would be greatly appreciated, Jekuthial


	3. Chapter 3

**If Jekuthial had been their ally years ago, maybe the land would not have been soaked in blood. Ashen was amazed how much he knew about changlings. The basic fact was they fed on love, but there was so much to their kind. All you could rely on from changlings was cruelty. Ashen had lived that first hand. No one knew that she and Darren were not always enemies. She had tried to become his friend, she had tried to care for him, tried to give him freedom from the cage he was in and all he gave her was death. He had killed the one person who had meant everything to her. Darren was not the only one to blame. She was not forced to fight back, but maybe she was? How could she just let Ryler's corpse lie there without striking back? She shook her head, needing to focus on her group. Alferion smiled at her, she returned his smile. Did her heart flutter? She shook her head a second time. She was just thinking about Ryler two seconds ago and still Alferion made her feel….feel what exactly?**

 **She thought her feelings were hidden, but that night revealed Ashen was very false. Alferion had been keeping watch at one period of the night. In the middle of shifting in her sleep he asked, "My lady, are you awake?"**

" **Yes, at least for now." She turned to look at his face.**

" **May I ask something, Ashen?"**

" **Of course, Alf."**

" **Why do you look at me like you've seen a ghost?"**

 **She inhaled and exhaled a breath. "Honestly, because when I look at you, it is like seeing a ghost. You ignite a fire in me I thought died. Even with just a passing glance, ashes spark back to life." She giggled.**

" **What?"**

" **I just find it odd that I'm using fire metaphors. I mean, it is probably rude because of your story, Alf. Still, that is the only way I can see it, the feelings because of you."**

 **He inched closer to her, "So.. this attraction is not just me. You feel these feelings too?"**

 **She nodded, then stared more closely in his eyes. Those golden flecks burning more brightly. Did they burn just for her? Or was she imagining the volume and magnitude of his stare? Then, slowly he craned his neck towards her face, as if to kiss her. Realizing his intent, she closed the distance and their lips met in a gentle peck. The kiss only lasted for a brief moment, interrupted by the snap of branches. Breaking the embrace, they both drew their swords, ready for attack. Soon the small sounds became explosions as the enemy came closer. A pair of glowing eyes were in view, then a pair of fangs.**

" **Changling!" Ashen's scream echoed in the camp. All of her knights sprung to action, leaving sleep for later. Laughter rang in her ears, scowling she demanded, "What is so funny?"**

" **The fact you ponies believe you can defeat me, a soldier of darkness."**

" **Darren sent you didn't he?"**

" **Yes!" The enemy charged at her, fangs ready for blood.**

 **The changling was barreling forward for Ashen, but Alferion pulled her behind his back. Fangs met flesh and a yowl left Alf's lips. Ashen could see the teeth buried deep in Alferion's ear. Fravir ran up to the enemy's side and swung his sword into the right front leg. This time, the changling howled in pain. Ashen pulled Alf out of grasp, blood running down his face.**

" **Alferion!"**

" **Do not worry, my lady of night. It is merely a flesh wound." Jekuthial ran to his side, wrapping the ear up with a cloth. "Let go, my lady. I must help Fravir."**

 **Ashen glanced to see Fravir battling the dark figure. The changling was using his long curled horn as a blade. Ashen stared in horror as the enemy took to the sky. Alf spread his wings, coming to Fravir's side. Fravir stepped backwards, giving Alferion the front position. Jekuthial's training had helped them greatly. Then, flying back a bit, the changling switched to magic. Running into the front, Stephen took his turn in the fight. Was she letting them take all the damage? Did all her experience leave her hooves? Lost in thought, Ashen did not see the newest move in battle.**

" **Ha, you're not even paying attention!"**

 **Ashen shook her head, coming eye to eye with her enemy. She saw that everypony was captured in magical barriers. "No, that is impossible. How did you accomplish that?"**

 **The changling chuckled at her. "You underestimate Lord Darren. Every day he is searching for more spells. He studies more hours then we work in the hive. What do you do, Lady Ashen? Oh yes, you pine that your family is gone."**

" **You stupid cockroach!" She swiped her sword against his horn, ready to fight for everything she believed in. But if it meant her friend's lives would she? If she could save Alf, would she give herself up to Darren? Without a second thought she asked, "If I go to your master, will you leave my knights in peace?"**

" **Ashen! No!" Alferion screamed. "We are not worth it! I am not worth it! No matter how we feel about each other!"**

" **That is where you are wrong, Alferion. I will not lose another person I care about. Do we have a deal, bug pony?"**

 **The changling bared his fangs and hissed, "yes." His horn glowed, snatching her up in his magic. Slowly they lifted into the air, the others free to move again.**

" **You're not taking her!"**

 **The changling yelled in Alf's direction, "Come close and I will drop your precious Lady Ashen!" The pair were at least fifty feet in the air. Ashen stared back at Alferion, hoping he saw the plead in her eyes. She saw him stomp his hoof on the ground, but he stood still.**

 **This had been not the hardest decision in her life. If Alferion was in her life, then he came first. She would not repeat losing a loved one, now realizing how much she was falling for him.**


End file.
